AIBU to think its ok to kill wasps...as long as someone else does it properly and doesn't do a half arsed job of it...

[HoveringKestrel]

...and it jumps up half alive and stings the wrong person?

I want those little bleeders dead.

Sorry. Wasp chaos today!

[TheHerringScreams]

I'm terrified of flies and can't kill them but that's because I'd have to get close to one and I hate anyone else killing it in case their are little stains....

Wasps we don't have a problem with, but after a sting, DD2, it has been discovered, has a quite bad reaction to them, so firstly we try to prevent them coming in, and if they do, we do TRY to let them out but although I do shout 'there's a wasp on here' Im not in the mood to wait patiently for a wasp to ge out of her bedroom via the window for ages when she needs to get to bed.

[LazarussLozenge]

'dogsandcats Thu 02-May-13 19:16:47

In my haste, I forgot that once it has stuck its sting in, it cant sting again can it?'

Wasps can, it is Honey Bees that leave their sting (and most of their innards I believe) after a sting. Even Bumble Bees can sting again and again.

If you're ever confronted with a sting that has left the stinger in place, be careful removing it, as squeezing the wrong bit will squirt more venom, it is this that hurts rather than the actual piercing of the skin.

[dogsandcats]

Thanks for that info Lazaruss.

How many times can it leave a stinger then?

[aldiwhore]

I also kill flies, but I could swat all day and they'd still be millions of the fuckers in my house.

My house is not rancid, but is opposite a dairy farm = lots of flies.

The POOH on things, little bloody dots over everything. Bastards.

They die.

But because I'm kind, I try not to let them in (my net curtains aren't for snooping, honest).

[mmmmmchocolate]

I was about to start a thread on this after today...

I remember reading on a thread once about something that you put down that the wasps love and they take it back to the nests and it kills them all. Anyone have any idea what it is?

We had a nest in the wall cavity 2 years ago and then there's a small nest in the loft (not very big, I think they all died before it got going thank god ) from last year. I'm terrified of being in my garden. For the last 2 years I've dried most of my washing indoors all summer.

So yes YANBU. Kill the stingy fuckers.

[LazarussLozenge]

Usually just the once... the insect (defintely bees) generally dies afterwards.

Male bees can't sting, as the sting is actually a modified egg chute. I couldn't tell the different between male and female insects in most cases though!

[hiddenhome]

Dh took a swipe at a wasp once and it's head came clean off. He picked it up (the severed head), placed it on some damp kitchen roll and it remained alive He used to feed it small bits of honey and it would eat it, then the honey would come out of the back of its head.

It was all very gruesome and, although I hate wasps, I made him kill it because I felt a bit sorry for it tbh.

[JesusInTheCabbageVan]

Regardless of their 'reputation' they don't generally just sting for the badness of it.

Oh yes they jeffing DO. Last summer I was lying on my stomach on the bed, reading. One flew in, stung me on the back of the neck, then flew out again. I didn't even get a CHANCE to move. Evil bastards.

[JesusInTheCabbageVan]

hiddenhome oh dear god.

[LadyRainicorn]

Late summer is the worst time, all the drones get kicked out the nest to fend for themselves until the frost kills them. That's why the wasp population seems to explode in roughly August time, just in time for prime picnic season. They have NOTHING to do but chase down sugar.

[Dogsmom]

Wasps are horrid but they do pollinate.

Moths however.......seriously, what is the point of them??

[Maat]

Die

They must all die.

[Idbeloveandsweetness]

hiddenhome that is the worst thing I have ever read. Urgh. I also feel kind of sorry for the wasp...but still...horrific.

[grimbletart]

I've never been able to kill a wasp since I read this poem by Wiliam Sharp



THE WASP

Where the ripe pears droop heavily
The yellow wasp hums loud and long
His hot and drowsy autumn song:
A yellow flame he seems to be,
When darting suddenly from high
He lights where fallen peaches lie

Yellow and black, this tiny thing's
A tiger-soul on elfin wings.

[EndoplasmicReticulum]

I agree with Jesus about the evilness - the same thing happened to me as a child, was in my bed reading, one flew in, stung me, flew out again.

(I enjoyed typing "I agree with Jesus". Doesn't happen often).

[LazarussLozenge]

'LadyRainicorn Thu 02-May-13 20:57:11

Late summer is the worst time, all the drones get kicked out the nest to fend for themselves until the frost kills them. That's why the wasp population seems to explode in roughly August time, just in time for prime picnic season. They have NOTHING to do but chase down sugar.'

Not quite. The Drones (male wasps) are on the pull, searching for potential mates (Young Queens).

So they have naught to do but eat sugar and have shexy time.

Good news is that cycle is repeated for lots of other insects... so basically we're picnicing in the middle of an insectoid orgy.

[digerd]

I have had 2 infestations in my loft during the 15 years I have been here.

The worst was just above the bathroom that had spot lights and the largest one over the loo. These spotlights had gaps round them, and the wasps were attracted to the light.

I had them dropping on my head, so sat with a towel on my head, buzzing at the window behind me, crawling up my leg.

If they had stayed in the loft and got out the way they got in and not gone into the bathroom, I would not have had to get the exterminator in.
I did feel guilty though, but had put up with them for 2 weeks.

[quoteunquote]

grimbletart

that's lovely, I'm sure I've heard it before.

[pointythings]

I kill wasps because I am allergic to their sting. If it's me or them, it's going to be them, I'm afraid.

[SirChenjin]

I kill wasps without a second thought. Hate the buggers, and after one got up my trouser leg and stung me multiple times before I could get him out I take the view that the only good wasp is a dead wasp.

[MummaBubba123]

Check this out on AMZN: The ExecutionerTM Fly Swat Wasp Bug Mosquito Swatter Zap... amazon.co.uk/dp/B000MU2MJA?tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21

[quoteunquote]

It's only wasps that kill horseflies , there is a dragonfly that eats horse flies, but there are not many dragonflies, so we need wasps, as horseflies are the worst.

It's the only insect I hate, the scottish midges comes second.

So don't kill all the wasps, or we will be covered in horseflies.

[kimblesj]

Kill all wasps! They sting for no reason and repeatedly and when they are dying off they go on a stinging spree just to piss everyone off! Kill them all dead and be careful when removing them as they still bloody sting you in death! Evil bastards

[maddening]

my fiance is a good aim with an elastic band and can kill a wasp mid air with one.

[maddening]

Scottish midgies - wee fecking barstards